Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is now a binocular target, having crossed the 10th-magnitude barrier. It is in Leo, somewhere near Mars, so if you want to catch it, you'll have to be wide-awake around 04:00 in the morning so spot it low in the east, shortly before sunrise.

ISON is currently hurtling Sun-ward at 144 356 km/h, which means in the time it takes to read this sentence it has travelled about 100 kilometers. It will be at perihelion (closest to the Sun) in about a month's time, on November 28.

The finder charts below, prepared with Stellarium, show the comet's position accurately enough to find it in binoculars or a low-power scope. For the best positions, go to the NASA/JPL "Horizons" website, at http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi, and select the Target Body as "Comet C/2012 S1". Or head over to heavens-above.com for a star map.

Finder charts

The star charts below show the position of ISON for each day, from October 28 to November 19. Right-click an image and Save-As to get your own hi-res version. Each image shows the view looking East, at 04:00 SAST.